Chicago Bears legend Steve "Mongo" McMichael posthumously diagnosed with CTE
Chicago Bears legend Steve "Mongo" McMichael has been posthumously diagnosed with CTE, his family announced Tuesday.
McMichael died April 23, 2025, coming up on a year ago, after a nearly five-year battle with ALS.
McMichael's widow, Misty, said she hopes sharing the news will raise awareness about the long-term effects of repetitive head impacts, and the urgent need to advance research.
The family said McMichael wanted his brain to be studied after he died, in order to advance research into the possible link between ALS and CTE.
Misty McMichael said, "Too many NFL players are developing ALS during life and then being diagnosed with CTE after death."
Expert: Every NFL player studied who had ALS also had CTE
Dr. Chris Nowinski, chief executive officer of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, said research shows a far higher risk for ALS among NFL players, and suggests a link to CTE.
"So the epidemiological data shows us that NFL players have four times the risk of developing ALS than the general public. And what seems to be linking that additional risk is the fact that every NFL player that we've studied who had ALS also had CTE," Nowinski said. "There's an interaction between the types of brain damage that occur from thousands of hits to the head."
CTE can only be diagnosed after death, which can make it easier to overlook the risk. But families can see ALS is a disease that families see unfold in real time.
Nowinski emphasized a need for a change in how athletes, parents, and coaches think of the risk involved with contact sports and prioritize physical health.
"CTE is an entirely preventable disease. If you don't get hit thousands of times, usually through sports, you aren't going to get CTE," said Nowinski. "And we have to recognize the fact that we've now diagnosed nearly 500 NFL players with disease — over 90% of those we've looked at. But we're also seeing former college athletes and high school athletes."
Nowinski said not just football, but also sports such as rugby, soccer, and ice hockey carry a risk of CTE.
"We're not doing enough to change the rules of sports to make them safer. We have children as young as 5 getting exposed to the risk of this disease," Nowinski said, "and we need to have a better national conversation about whether we want our children developing CTE, or whether we're willing to have a different version of youth sports so that they don't get this."
At minimum, youth sports absolutely should not involve kids getting hit in the head, Nowinski said.
We should have a youth version that before 14 doesn't involve repetitive hits. So if you want your child to be a tackle football player, put them in flag till high school. If you want your child to play soccer, don't have them heading the ball before high school," he said. "None of that is going to help them advance as an athlete."
Nowinski also emphasized a need for a change in contact policies during practice — as for any given football player, most hits to the head are going to come in practice rather than in games.
Steve McMichael: A Bears legend
The New England Patriots picked McMichael in the third round, at No. 73 overall, in the 1980 NFL Draft. He was the consensus All-America selection at the University of Texas.
The Patriots released McMichael after just six regular-season games in one season, and he joined the Bears in 1981. He would become a key part of what is widely regarded as one of the best defenses in NFL history.
The 6-foot 2-inch, 270-pound McMichael played a franchise-record 191 games for the Bears, and became a starter at defensive tackle in 1983.
In 1985, the first of three straight All-Pro seasons at defensive tackle, McMichael helped lead the Bears to their only Super Bowl title to date — starting at left defensive tackle and recording a sack against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX.
McMichael would play 13 seasons with the Bears from 1981 to 1993, and ranks second only to Richard Dent in team history with 92.5 sacks. A part of six division championship teams, McMichael was a two-time first-team All-Pro, and he made the NFL Pro Bowl twice, in 1986 and 1987.
McMichael went to the Green Bay Packers for one season to finish his football career and retired after the 1994 season. But he was far from done being in the spotlight.
McMichael appeared briefly with the WWF before going on to wrestle and commentate for World Championship Wrestling for five years.
In 2021, McMichael revealed he was battling ALS. Three years later, McMichael, along with family and friends who had for years pushed for it, celebrated Mongo getting elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.